Obituary of Ray Erickson

September 16, 1948 - December 13, 2016


Ray Lee Erickson was born on September 16, 1948 in Portland, Oregon. He passed away at his home in Tacoma, Washington on December 13 after a long battle with cancer.
He is survived by his wife Deborah, his sister Donna Olsen,
his daughters Mandy Janus and Megan Erickson, and his grandchildren Tayler and Tristen.
In addition he is survived by his step-daughter Lindsay Felton,
and the mother of his children, Cheryl Erickson.

Ray grew up in St. Helens, Oregon. His family spent every vacation traveling from one National Park to another, instilling in Ray a great love of the outdoors, fishing, hunting, boating…
all of which he carried with him throughout his life.
Following his graduation from high school Ray enrolled in college in Bend, Oregon where he jokingly said he “majored in skiing.”
Ray served a tour in Viet Nam. While there he was stricken with Jungle Fever ending up in the hospital. Following his release he stayed to finish his tour and became a driver for a 4 Star General instead of being on the front lines. Pretty sweet duty after months in the jungle.

After receiving an Honorable Discharge, Ray returned home to marry and begin his career as a salesman. He spent much of his career selling heavy road building equipment.
More recently he sold Digital Imaging Equipment to the medical community.

Ray’s love and enthusiasm for life was evident in everything he did. from summating Mt. Rainier, to scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef. He worked hard, he played hard. He loved music, he loved adventure, he loved his friends and his family and as a result,
he was loved and respected in return in all aspects of his life.